"Laparoscopic Surgery"

Laparoscopic surgery underwent in August 2018. The general Surgeons and recovery nurse were second to none. Great praise and gratitude to them. The anaesthetic team - absolutely shocking!

 a) Anaesthetic assessment carried out by a staff member who:

 1. Gave no introduction.

2. Inaccurately documented our discussion.

3. Failed to recognise the patient’s needs.

 

b) Nurse escort to theatre advised me that they recognised me from Facebook but failed to tell me what their name was.

 

c) Anaesthetic room contained the nurse who escorted me, the assessing member of staff plus others. None of them bothered to introduce themselves but I have since discovered, with some difficulty, who they were and what their roles were:

 1.Anaesthetist

2.ODP

3.Student Nurse

 

Anaesthetist discussed anaesthetic with me. I voiced my concern with regard to opiate/opioid medication which I insisted was not to be administered while I was under anaesthetic. They heard me as we discussed another medication of the same class but in oral form. Regardless, they went ahead and gave me this drug, almost immediately after our discussion, against my wishes and now claims they were unaware! Twice I informed the anaesthetic team that day and not once had they documented it.

 

ODP, who cares for the anaesthetised patient. As I was still conscious they stood leaning against the bunker. No eye contact or introduction was attempted. Very unnerving considering I had already advised the other staff member at anaesthetic assessment my anxieties. Yes, I am aware they are an important member of the anaesthetic team but what harm would it have been to have stayed out of sight until I was under anaesthetic?

 

Then we have the student nurse who once again didn’t introduce themselves. I wasn’t advised of their presence nor was I asked if I was okay with it (which I wasn’t). They proceeded to be directly involved in my care acting as a human tourniquet while I was being cannulated. To add insult to injury, the other members of staff are claiming this nurse wasn’t present, and I must have been mistaken. Yes, I was anxious but not stupid.

 

As student nurses don’t get added to Opera Management they were not documented on any of my clinical records so in theory, they didn’t exist!

 

I have had a meeting with the management team. A manager (very professional approachable person) and staff from theatres. I was flabbergasted beyond belief as I sat and listened to what I regard as a catalogue of inaccuracies.

 

Complained to SPSO, again I feel this was a total waste of time as it felt like all statements issued by the staff corroborated each other.

 

I have been a qualified nurse working for the NHS for almost 30 years, and never have I witnessed such unprofessional, tactical behaviour.